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Are the fish in Florida's waters polluted with toxic algae safe to eat?

The risk to human health from eating any aquatic animals that are living in the moldy-smelling, fluorescent green sludge-filled lakes, rivers and lagoons comes from an amino acid called BMAA, which has been linked to Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's disease.

Are the fish in Florida's waters polluted with toxic algae safe to eat?

Scientists have discovered a link between blooms of cyanobacteria - blue-green algae - like the kind seen on lakes and rivers in Florida - with Alzheimers and ALS disease. ED KILLER/TCPALM
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Joseph Pfeiffer, a blue crab fisherman for Island Crab of St. James City, Florida, says harvests so far in 2018 are down, potentially because crabs are starting to move away from toxic algae in the Caloosahatchee River.(Photo: Andrew West, The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press)

Rain, heat and pollutants have caused the outbreak of toxic algae blooms this summer in South Florida's Lake Okeechobee and other waterways linked to it, more than 1,000 square miles of fish-filled fresh water. But the risk to human health from any aquatic animal that lives in the midst of the moldy-smelling, fluorescent green sludge is simply too great, they said.

"I would not eat any fish caught in this area right now," said Larry Brand, marine biology and ecology professor with the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

Even if you don't get sick now, you may be setting yourself up for deadly neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease, or other motor-neuron diseases, according to the 2017 documentary "Toxic Puzzle," which the clean-water advocacy group Bullsugar.org screened here this week.

The link between the algae's toxins and the incurable diseases comes down to an amino acid, beta-Methylamino-L-alanine, which scientists shorten to BMAA, found in animals killed in the blooms.

"BMAA, a neurotoxin, was found in high levels in the brains of dead dolphins which were sampled," said James Metcalf, a senior researcher with Brain Chemistry Labs in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "These high concentrations of BMAA we see in the brains of these dolphins, they obviously got it from the fisheries. It indicates you got BMAA in your ecosystem."

These speckled perch were caught in November 2017 with Capt. Nate Shellen of Okeechobee Bass Guide Service in Okeechobee, Florida, before toxic algae blooms endangered aquatic life.(Photo: Courtesy of Nate Shellen)

So freshwater fish such as bluegill, catfish, cichlids, largemouth bass, shellcracker, speckled perch and tilapia or saltwater fish such as black drum, mullet, redfish, sheepshead, snapper, snook, spotted seatrout, tripletail, and others could have BMAA contamination if they came from South Florida lakes such as Lake Okeechobee and Blue Cypress Lake or the Caloosahatchee River, St. Lucie River and southern Indian River lagoon.

Someone who eats contaminated food may not experience disease symptoms for 10 or more years, Brand said.

The connection was first observed on Guam after World War II.

During the war, the indigenous Chamorro people had to forage for food, hunting two species of flying foxes, a type of fruit bat, to survive. About 10 years after the war, the population had a spike in motor neuron diseases about 150 times greater than what occurs worldwide, which is about 2 in every 100,000 people, Metcalf said.

"When we found the cyanobacteria was the source of the toxin in Guam, it led to the whole idea that it could be a global phenomenon," he said. "We’ve now shown the toxin can cause the plaques and tangles in the brain."

The lower a fish lives in the water column, the more it could be exposed to harmful toxins, according to Brand's research.

"When you look at the data, it seems like more benthic animals (fish, crustaceans and mollusks that spend most of their time near the bottom of the water) tend to have higher levels of BMAA" because the scum with the dangerous bacteria sits on a river or lake bottom, Brand said.

And a fish caught outside an area with the blooms still could be contaminated, said Renay Rouse, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health in Martin County.

"Of course, fish move," she said. "The fish you catch away from a bloom may have been in a bloom five minutes earlier. So we advise people to closely examine the fish they catch. Other than having been hooked, does it appear to be healthy? Does it have any lesions?"

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Algae fills a canal near Lake Okeechobee on July 10, 2018, in Pahokee, Fla.Tourism, fishing and public health are being threatened by several contaminants discoloring stretches of beaches at the southern end of the Florida peninsula. Brynn Anderson, AP

An Olga, Fla. resident who declined to be identified checks out the water from the Franklin Locks on the Caloosahatchee River. An algal bloom has pushed up against the lock. Reports of algae on the river have been reported since last week. Most reports are east of the Franklin Locks. Some are worried that it might move west towards the estuary. The DEP is testing the algae later this week to see if it is toxic. Andrew West, The News-Press via USA TODAY NETWORK

The intensity of algae blooms on the Caloosahatchee River is growing. Several longtime fisherman said this is the worst they have seen on the river. Most of the algae is still east of the Franklin Locks, but there were also ribbons a little bit west. The swimming area at the beach has also been closed because of high bacteria levels. Andrew West, The News-Press via USA TODAY NETWORK

Algae builds up at the Fort Myers Yacht Basin. Recent algae blooms are starting to move west down the Caloosahatchee River. U.S. Senator Bill Nelson met with water advocates and elected officials to discuss the water quality. Andrew West, The News-Press via USA TODAY NETWORK

A sailboat travels through the algae-infested water of the C-44 Canal in Martin County. Since June 1, about 25 billion gallons of Lake Okeechobee water has been discharged from the gates at the St. Lucie Lock and Dam into the St. Lucie River, concerning residents and damaging local businesses. Leah Voss, TCPALM via USA TODAY NETWORK

North Fort Myers resident James Van Winkle tries his luck fishing the Caloosahatchee River shore line next to the Old U.S. 41 bridge in North Fort Myers, Fl. on July 6, 2018. He says any fish he catches were going back in the river because of the algae outbreak on the Caloosahatchee River, however if the water were clean he would keep the fish. He says he enjoys fishing the spot is conveniently close to his home. Andrew West, The News-Press via USA TODAY NETWORK

Algae builds up at the gates of Port Mayaca, where Lake Okeechobee water is transferred to the C-44 Canal before it reaches the St. Lucie River, in Martin County. Based on satellite images, researchers with NOAA estimate that 90 percent of the 730-square-mile freshwater lake is covered in algae, proven to be toxic with microcystin through tests conducted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Leah Voss, TCPALM via USA TODAY NETWORK

John G. Heim of the South Florida Clean Water Movement collects a bottle of Caloosahatchee River water at the Franklin lock and dam, where a mat of blue-green algae has formed. Michael Braun, The News-Press via USA TODAY NETWORK